Register now for interactive Quaker tour in Medford
Published: Tuesday, April 29, 2014 by Rita Manno
for The Central Record link to the article
Integrity. Peace. Equality. Community. Simplicity.
These are the values Quakers embrace and live by. As Lynne Brick, a Quaker and Medford Meeting member since 1975, said, these values help to “live out the spark of God within us.”
Lynne was a “convinced Friend,” which means she wasn’t born into a Quaker family but became one when she became convinced it was a path she wanted to follow. She noticed at the time that many of the older members lived their beliefs every day, not just on Sunday.
The meetinghouse in Medford, she says, is not a museum, not just an historic site.
“It’s an active place,” she said.
Some 100 members belong to the meetinghouse at 14 Union Street, with 40 to 60 members present for Sunday meeting for worship services.
Those services are very different from other religions or sects. Members sit in silence, open to hearing God within themselves. They believe there is strength in groups. While members don’t come to the services planning to speak, some may rise to do so.
With no specific ministers, everyone is considered a minister who can access God.
“We do everything by committee from care and nurturing to deciding when the building needs to be painted,” Brick said.
Lynne taught Quaker values classes to children at Moorestown Friends for 19 years and has served on various committees at the meetinghouse over the years.
On Thursday, May 8, from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., the public may join members of Medford Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in an interactive tour of the 1814 meetinghouse.
The meeting is preparing to celebrate 200 years of worship in the building. The tour will cover the history of the meetinghouse and explore the guiding principles that Quakers still follow.
There will be an indoor scavenger hunt, a moving of the 200-year-old interior “walls,” whose use will be explained, and, weather permitting, gravestone rubbings.
The event will take place rain or shine. Attendees must register by May 1 at www.medfordleas.org or by calling 609-654-3588
The event is sponsored by Medford Leas in collaboration with Medford Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.
For additional information, visit www.Medfordfriendsmeeting.org.
